The Netherworld of Youkai
by Kaos Sakana
Summary: Laharl has found a way to cross into other Netherworlds at will, and plans on conquering all of them. However,his plan changes when instead he finds himself in Gensokyo.
1. Chapter 1

The Netherworld…

*Soundtrack: Lord Laharl's Hymn ( watch?v=lZS3IK6VvUw ) *

The scene fades from black into an overtop view of a demonic (albeit tacky) castle towering over the barren underworld. Demons can be seen everywhere gambling and fighting. Small masses of land can be seen hovering high in the air with no visible force keeping them afloat. The horizon is filled with dark purple clouds and black mountains. Canyons and cliffs tower over pits of fire and lava, the violent red light they produce visible at scattered spots at ground level. Yet despite the downtrodden atmosphere, the general mood is carefree. Not necessarily relaxed, but lazy. More than anything, this atmosphere seems silly. Almost like a carnival; a horrifying, nightmarish carnival, but a carnival nonetheless. The scene begins to zoom into a higher window of the tower, speeding up until the view from outside disappears almost instantly. Within the walls of the tower, a young boy is visible sitting atop a throne built for someone of much more stature then him. The boy sits leaning on one hand, the other tapping impatiently on the arm of the throne. As he sits idle, a strange penguin like creature with peg legs, blue skin and a fanny pack at his front scurried up to him, tripping once along the way.

"We almost have the device ready Lord Laharl!" the creature said with a slight surfer accent. As he said it, his beak didn't move for pronunciation.

"It's about time! You damn prinnys work so slow it's not worthy of an Overlord like myself!" Laharl said in an obnoxiously raised voice. As he finished his bloated statement, he raised himself from the throne and began walking towards the window. Peeking out of it, he could see below a dimensional gate nearing completion. A simple ring, probably larger than several houses, was surrounded by prinnys. It was too high to see the finer details of what they were doing, but it appeared that they were working on the object. Laharl grinned widely, showing his teeth and raising the two very long antenna like strands of hair on his otherwise eye length blue hair. His red eyes had an evil shine in the back of them.

"I can't wait."…

Gensokyo…

*Soundtrack: Immaterial and Missing Power Pre-Battle Theme -Wanderings ( watch?v=wpbQ8EgfLSI )*

The scene fades from black to a lush, woodland like landscape. The vegetation is varied and colorful, seemingly foreign from each other yet all existing together. Among this landscape, a very out of place western style mansion is visible on the far side of a large lake. The scene rapidly moves towards this mansion, zooming in past the front door and settling in a grand foyer. The room was richly furbished, fit for a high class master. The interior, like the exterior of the house, was distinctly European; right down to French maids scurrying around each hallway. Beyond the foyer was an even larger main living quarter. Centered in this room was a table large enough to line up at least 20 to 30 guests, but within its chairs sat just one girl. Her wavy dark blue hair barely graced her shoulders as she tilted her head back to sip her tea. She wore a pink mob cap and dress with bright red trimming. Next to her stood a single maid with shoulder length silver hair; a long braid running down each side of her face tied at the ends with green bows. Both of the women were very youthful in appearance, particularly the girl sitting down. Upon finishing her last sip of tea, she stood up from her chair, revealing a short stature. More striking than that, she revealed a bat like wingspan stretching on either side of her.

"Lady Remilia, is there anything else you need?" said the maid, bowing her head slightly. The short little vampire sighed deeply before responding.

"I think that will be all for now Sakuya." Remilia said in a depressing tone.

"Lady Remilia, what is troubling you?" Sakuya pried. Remilia turned towards Sakuya before speaking.

"Would you think less of me if I said I was depressed out of sheer boredom?" Remilia said through a small forced grin. Sakuya 's mouth gaped for perhaps half a second.

"Lady Remilia, I could never think less of you!" Sakuya said in all seriousness.

"Yes, I suppose I should expect an answer like that." Remilia smiled sadly as she said this. There was a pause before she spoke again. "It's been so boring around here since that visit from the shrine maiden." Remilia dreamily gazed at the ceiling, acting very out of character from her normal, confident behavior. Sakuya was actually getting flustered thinking of how to react. But before she could, Remilia continued. "I guess I just want something to happen." She stated, still looking at the ceiling. The two stood in silence for a few more moments. Finally, Remilia shook her head as if to shake the feeling out of her. "Enough of this. I'm ready for my bath." Remilia said sternly, suddenly anxious to change the atmosphere.

"Right away Lady Remilia."  
_

*no music*

"Wow! It's so big!" said a very impressed fallen angel. She stretched out her cherry red wings as she did, and her eyes widened in amazement.

"Flonne, you're a little too easily impressed." Said a much darker toned demon girl. Almost as if to contrast with the fallen angel's white blouse, this demon wore a very revealing black two piece outfit. Her red hair tied on either end of her head opposed Flonne's long blonde hair. The only thing the two physically had in common were their red eyes that seemingly everyone in the netherworld shared.

"But Etna, how did all these prinnys even make something like this? It's the biggest portal I've ever seen and they don't even have thumbs." Flonne said as she gestured her own thumbs up and down as if to demonstrate their use.

"Will you both shut up!" Laharl barked, even more anxious and obnoxious then his usual self.

"What's your problem today? Isn't all this exactly what you wanted?" Etna asked, actually somewhat curious as to why Laharl was so wound up.

"Well it's obvious why Laharl is so angry. Without love in his hea-" Flonne started, but couldn't finish.

"GET OFF OF THAT LOVE CRAP FOR 5 MINUTES!" Laharl screamed, almost pushing Flonne to tears. Etna just sighed to herself and gave up speaking.

Two figures were visible in a dark, basement like room. One was a tall feminine figure with striking long, straight red hair; two braids running down either side tied with black ribbons. She wore an olive dress and cap, with a star on the cap featuring the character "龍" (dragon) in the center. The other figure was much smaller, smaller still because she was sitting down on the floor. She had short blonde hair that reached down just a little bit farther then Remilia's, touching her shoulders in any position. Her hair was tied in a ponytail on the left side of her head, the ponytail reaching farther down then the rest of her hair. She wore a red skirt and overshirt, with a pinkish white blouse underneath. She had strikingly red eyes like Remilia, but most noticeable of all were what appeared to be wings on her back. The wings were seemingly made of crystals of different colors, bizarrely hanging like Christmas lights on a tree.

"You seem depressed Miss Flandre." spoke the taller of the two, her arms crossed at her waist.

"I'm so bored." Flandre said simply. As she said this, her head tilted upward to look at the tall woman, revealing a very glazed, narrow expression in her eyes. "Where is that witch that visited us once? I want to fight her." This coaxed an awkward facial expression from the taller woman.

"Miss Flandre, it's very unlikely we'll be seeing her for a while, especially since we don't usually allow visitors." As she said this, her face began to look guilty. "Besides, if you want to fight someone, you can fight me for fun. What's a simple witch compared to 4000 years of Chinese history and martial arts. She would stand no chance against the great Hong Meling." China said very smugly, feeling a sort of pride she probably didn't deserve.

"You don't fight as good as her." Flandre said in as monotone a voice as one could imagine. China's expression instantly went from smug to defeated. "Are there other strong people?" Flandre abruptly changed the subject, still speaking monotone as she did.

"Huh? Well, yes. There are probably a lot of strong people outside the walls." China instantly regretted what she said, seeing Flandre's face light up for the first time all day.

"So if I went outside I could just fight them?" Flandre's voice was very childish and excited as she said this. China pursed her lips together before speaking again.

"Miss Flandre, you know you're not allowed to leave the mansion." China stated very maternally.

"I can with my sister's permission. I'll just ask her." China's face went from concerned to horrified. Putting ideas in the head of the young mistress was probably a good way to get punished.

"She would certainly say no and asking her would probably just anger her." China blurted out.

"But maybe if you help to convince her…" A brief image of Sakuya sticking knives under her fingernails flashed through China's mind.

"Please Miss. I'm likely to get killed if you pursue this." China said desperately. Flandre pouted and said no more.

"I think it's ready dood!" One of the prinnys yelled from the base of the great ring like object.

"Then start it." Yelled Laharl in a notably anxious voice.

"Right now? Where do you need to go in such a rush?" Etna asked as if she was put off by Laharl's willingness to leave so quickly.

"Whatever Netherworld it takes me to." Laharl said as if it was as obvious as anything else.

"Shouldn't you think this through a bit? The last time you went parading into another Netherworld you got your ass handed to yo-" Etna could barely speak her last syllable before Laharl interrupted.

"THAT WAS A FLUKE!" Laharl screamed, showing the difference between his normal obnoxious behavior and actual anger.

"Don't yell at me twerp." Etna yelled back.

"Guys, stop fighting!" Flonne said desperately. There was an awkward pause before the portal servant in front of the ring spoke up.

"Shall I start the machine lord Laharl?" The servant asked.

"Do it." Laharl said.

"As you command sir." The portal servant said as he turned to the ring. Despite the mechanical appearance of the ring, the servant lifted his hands in the air as if he was performing a ritual. After a few moments, the ring began to light up.

_

A woman lounging seemingly in midair urgently opens her eyes. The woman is under a large pink parasol centered in what looks like a completely different dimension. Large red eye-like objects litter the ground, and the dark horizon is empty. The woman repositions herself to a sitting position. Her long blond hair reached down almost to the bottom of her pink and purple dress. Her dark golden eyes looked upward ominously, as if she were analyzing something. Her expression was now serious instead of the momentary surprise demonstrated by her lurching awake.

"Hmm….my my. What is this now?" she spoke softly to herself.

"I think we're ready dood." Spoke a prinny towards Laharl. Laharl stood still in front of the colossal culis gate, smiling with anticipation.

"Laharl, do you really wanna do this?" asked Flonne, showing her maternal side over her childish side.

"Don't ask stupid questions. If I'm going to rule every netherworld in existence, then I have to go to them first." Said Laharl matter of factly.

"Oh, is that what we're doing?" asked Etna with as boring a tone as she could muster.

"Have you even been paying attention?!" Laharl barked at Etna.

"All you've said is that this machine is going to make you the greatest overlord of all time. You never even explained to us what your plan is. How were we supposed to guess that you had some half-baked plan to just go to every netherworld and fight them?" Etna asked logically.

"She's right Laharl." Flonne said simply.

"Whatever. You guys are idiots." Laharl said without any thought. Etna and Flonne both scowl at the back of Laharl's head. As the three of them bicker, a fourth figure peaks his head out from behind a nearby rock wall, examining their work. The figure was much taller than the three of them, far more likely to be in his adult years. He had purple hair that hung down past his colure, and wore tight black jeans and a black and red vest open at the chest.

"What is that boy up to now I wonder? Such a strange drive he has. He is already Overlord of the Netherworld, so what more could he want I wonder. He's truly outrageous if he thinks he can keep it a secret from the Dark Adonis Vyers." he said to himself quietly. He contemplated making an act and asking or forcing the information out of them, but given the outcomes of his last fights with Laharl the outcome of that plan looked bleak. Instead, he decided to observe silently.

"I can't keep the gate open much longer. Are you ready to depart?" the portal servant asked as politely as he could. Laharl doesn't verbally answer him. He merely grins and nods his head before taking a few steps forward towards the gate. Responding to him, the gate lights up. Laharl, Flonne, and Etna are all enveloped in a blinding light. Moments later, they are gone.

At the front of a quiet shrine, a girl in her mid teens sits idly drinking tea. She wears a red and white shrine maiden outfit with the sleeves very peculiarly detached from the rest of the outfit. Out of thin air, a black portal manifests itself next to her. Emerging from the portal is the woman with long blonde hair and golden eyes, carrying with her a pink parasol. The shrine maiden shows no surprise or alarm in response to this, as if this was a casual event for her.

"Good afternoon Reimu." The blonde woman said curtly. Reimu gives her a dull look in response.

"I was looking forward to a peaceful day for once." She said without changing her expression.

"Well, how rude. I didn't realize I was such a burden." The blonde woman said, spreading a hand fan over the bottom half of her face.

"You're not Yukari. But whenever you show up it means something bad is happening." Reimu said bluntly.

"I'm surprised. I really can't just come over for a casual visit?" Reimu instantly narrowed her eyes in response. "Well, okay. I do have something to tell you, but it's not necessarily a disaster." Yukari admitted.

"What's up?" Reimu said casually, indicating this whole routine was very normal for her.

"It seems that someone manipulated the border to Gensokyo…and may or may not have crossed into it." Yukari said, moving her fan and revealing a bit of a nervous grin.

"And you allowed this because…?" Reimu trailed off, waiting for Yukari to finish the sentence.

"You say that as if I have ultimate control over these kinds of things." Yukari said with the soul intention of getting a rise out of Reimu.

"You do!" Reimu said frustrated, falling into Yukari's fun.

"A person is allowed to make mistakes." Yukari said with fake timidity.

"Why do I get the feeling you just let it happen for some self-amusing reason? Reimu said, realizing she hit the nail on the head by Yukari's facial reaction.

"…You're far too intuitive, you know that?" Yukari backhandedly complimented, coaxing a quick grin from Reimu before she returned to her neutral face.

"It's not fun for me you know. I clean up enough Youkai messes as it is." Reimu stated seriously.

"We don't even know if they are going to cause trouble. You should just relax and see how things pan out." Yukari suggested, fully aware that she was asking Reimu to act against every instinct she had. Reimu sighed deeply, giving a frustrated expression upwards at nothing in particular.

"No trouble huh…?"

_

*Soundtrack: Magnificent Dark Family ( watch?v=M_wtbleujwY )*

Within the middle of a deep bamboo thicket, a small figure stands perfectly still. The figure's shadow spreads forward across the ground, dispersing flocks of birds from their feeding. The character in question is Laharl, looking around his foreign surroundings. In the distance, a lake is viewable at the end of the bamboo forest. Above, an orange evening sky can be seen making the slow transition to night. Laharl seems stunned at his surroundings for a few moments, before curling his mouth into the most evil and satisfied grin he could make.

"It worked…"

*end soundtrack*

*end chapter*


	2. Chapter 2

China's face was stricken with shock. She stood rigidly still, too horrified to move. All she could do was focus her sight to what was in front of her. Or rather, to what wasn't in front of her. The basement had several people in it, including Remilia, Sakuya, and a girl with long purple hair who wore lavender, pajama like clothing and a nightcap. But Flandre was no longer there. In fact, she was detectably nowhere in the mansion.

"Where did she go?" Remilia said very irritably, demonstrating a lack of control that was extremely uncommon for her.

"I suppose nothing was ever physically stopping her. The thing we need to determine is why she left. It's strange for her to do something like this unprovoked." observed the girl with purple hair. She spoke monotone, despite the supposed severity of the situation. She turned towards Remilia to make eye contact with her. This seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Yes Pache. But I wonder…what convinced her to leave?" Remilia said more calmly then before, but with the same piercing eyes. China gave an audible gulp.

"I apologize lady Remilia. I could do nothing to stop it. What shall my punishment be?" Sakuya said this on her knees, with her forehead planted on the ground in a position of ultimate submissiveness.

"There will be no punishment. I'd much rather have you out looking for her than wasting time here. Besides…" Remilia paused for a moment to adjust her voice, and actually managed a softer tone. "It's obvious you are not at fault." Remilia said to Sakuya's complete surprise.

"I don't deserve such mercy. I swear I'll find Miss Flandre." Sakuya said this with a respectful tone, but then opened her eyes and matched Remilia's piercing eyes and tone of voice. "And if anyone else is involved I will end them." China began shaking from head to toe, and light whimpering sounds began to escape her mouth.

"Hong Meling, you've been very quiet about this." Patchouli observed. Due to her monotone voice, it was difficult to tell if she brought this up casually or with purpose .

"HUH? Well…" Hong Meling began, her expression contorted with fear. "Well there isn't any-. Well I have no idea why she would want to fight." China stuttered out.

"Fight….why do you think she would want to fight someone?" Patchouli asked in the same constant tone of voice. China's heart leapt at the question.

"You…but you said she left because-" China desperately tried to wriggle her way out of the hole she dug herself, but Patchouli cut her off.

"All I said was that something probably provoked her to leave. I never said or assumed she wanted to fight someone." Patchouli explained, trapping China in her logic. China's heart sank, and her face looked sullen as all of her hope faded.

"Well, that's one mystery solved." Remilia said in an oddly nonchalant voice. "Sakuya?" She asked with an upward inflection suggesting she should proceed.

"Yes, lady Remilia." Sakuya said coldly, before disappearing in an instant. The next moment, she was behind China with several knives drawn between her fingers. What followed was a loud, desperate scream from China that could be heard far beyond the mansion.

Laharl double takes, out of the corner of his eye seeing for a moment what looked like a girl with shoulder length hair and bunny ears cut through a bush, but quickly dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks on him. He continues to stride through the bamboo thicket, examining his surroundings as he passes.

"Where did those idiots go? We all went through the portal together so why aren't they here?" he complained to himself. "And what kind of weird netherworld is this anyways?"

"I've never heard someone call this place a netherworld before." Said a voice above Laharl.

*Soundtrack: IaMP – Yukari Yakumo's Theme – Night Falls ~ Evening Star: ( watch?v=WNIPHL0Qy3Y&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLdZZurAPHkW2etSC1sDnP8Q )*

Laharl whipped around in the direction of the voice almost instantly, completely surprised he couldn't find the source of the voice before it revealed itself. Above him, hovering within a black portal a safe distance above Laharl was a striking woman with long blone hair and dark golden eyes. For some reason, the presence of this woman made Laharl tense up, as if he could tell just by looking that she would be an incredible opponent.

"Who are you?" Laharl demanded as he swung his sword in her direction.

"You really should calm down. We've just met you know. We don't have a reason to be hostile." Yukari said diplomatically. Laharl kept his stance and stayed silent for a moment.

"I'll decide that for myself." He said without moving his weapon.

"Fair enough, but you won't make any allies behaving like that." Yukari explained very calmly, seemingly unaffected by Laharl's disposition.

"I don't need any allies!" Laharl exclaimed, equally unsoothed by Yukari's reasonable input.

"Well suit yourself." she said with her eyesbrows raised. "All I wish to know is what you plan on doing here. It's pretty obvious you're not from here." Laharl grinned in response to this.

"I plan on killing this world's Overlord." Laharl said as if it was a completely self-explanatory statement. Yukari tilted her head to the side a bit as an expression of confusion came over her.

"Eh?" Yukari blurted ungracefully. "I'm not sure if you're in the right place then." Yukari continued.

"Well I plan on looking around." Laharl responded, misunderstanding the 'right place' as somewhere else within the world he was currently in. Yukari sighed in response.

"That's not really what I mean…" Yukari paused before shrugging her arms. "But I'm curious, so I think I'll leave you alone for now." she settled at that, giving up any real communication with the alien boy in front of her. "I'm Yukari Yakumo by the way." she informed him as if to improve friendly relations.

"I don't care." Laharl responded bluntly.

"Hmph." Yukari dropped her smile for the first time in the conversation, although she probably could have kept the polite façade up longer if she tried. Behind her, the black portal she was hovering in expands. She falls back voluntarily into it, and disappears.

*music fades*

Laharl finally lowered his sword. Without another word, he started moving forward again, catching another glimpse of what looked like a bunny ear hiding in the bamboo. "What a weird place…"

_

Skirting over the water of the lake in front of the mansion was a shadow roughly shaped like a human, but with wings that looked faintly like branches. The shape moved across the top of the lake fairly quickly, undetectable by anything it passed.

"Hmm…I wonder where strong people are." Flandre said to herself. She held up a parasol to block the evening sun, which was strangely careful and out of character for her. Her thoughts were very active, given that she had never been outside of the mansion without permission before. She was nervous and anxious, which probably gave her the wherewithal to watch herself from the sun in the first place. "I wonder if sis will be mad at me…"

_

Within the Hakurei shrine, Remiu sat in front of a very low coffee table, drinking tea idly. In the process of raising her cup towards her mouth, she stopped as if alerted to something, then lowered the cup and placed it on the table.

"So, what did you find out about these guys?" Reimu spoke to seemingly nobody, only to have Yukari's presence confirmed as she dropped slowly from her portal near the ceiling.

"I'm not your informant you know." Yukari said a little bit perturbed.

"Yeah, but I knew your curiosity would lead you to find out." Reimu explained while cracking a grin.

"You take me for granted." Yukari said while remaining serious.

"I might be more respectful if you didn't cause so much trouble." Reimu said, showing a bit of playful jabbing in her eyes. Yukari gave an exasperated look upwards, unable to really argue back.

"Well, I found one of them, and…" Yukari trailed off, awkwardly trying to finish her sentence.

"Yes?" Reimu pressed. Yukari pondered for a bit before deciding how to answer.

"He said he wants to kill this world's overlord." Yukari settled on saying as if it were a perfectly normal thing to say. Reimu's jaw dropped open slightly, and her eyes expanded in a mix of skepticism and confusion as if her face was trying to say 'what in the hell'. "I have no idea either." Yukari continued, raising her hands up and shrugging her shoulders. There was an awkward pause as they both thought of what to say next, but Yukari spoke first. "So just so you're aware, he might cause a little trouble while he's here." She said with an innocent smile.

"NO TROUBLE HUH?" Reimu echoed from earlier. Yukari maintained a calm demeanor.

"In my defense, I never used those words. I said we didn't know if he would cause trouble or not." Yukari retorted. Reimu gave a loud audible sigh. Then after a few seconds, she lifted herself up and walked towards her gohei. Seeing what she was aiming for, Yukari spoke up. "You know, this issue might solve itself. After he finds out where he is he'll probably just leave." Yukari said with a little less confidence then she normally spoke. Reimu turned to her with a bit of a scowl.

"Why are you so dedicated to leaving this alone Yukari? This isn't like you." Reimu pointed out. Yukari struggled with the question, as indeed she was not usually one to let Gensokyo go unprotected, even if she let Reimu do the work most of the time. She was completely out of character today.

"Perhaps… I think something good can come out of this." Yukari settled on. She didn't even understand her own reasoning, and actually got a little annoyed at herself. How embarrassing to sound so flaky. "I think I want to observe this child for a little while. It's not every day we get a visitor from another world." Reimu seemed completely unimpressed; given more outlandish things then that happen in Gensokyo probably every day. "Could you humor me on this one Reimu?" Yukari pleaded. Reimu continued to scowl for a few more seconds before closing her eyes and resuming her seat.

"If this goes bad, you're taking responsibility." Reimu said as she picked up her tea, bringing it to her lips and continuing as if the conversation never started.

"I'll owe you a favor perhaps." Yukari said with a satisfied look on her face. Reimu didn't respond, continuing to drink her tea as if no one arrived at her shrine today.

Laharl pressed his way out of the bamboo forest, walking at a brisk anxious pace. In his mind he was half angry at himself for not pressing the woman from before for more questions. Her sudden appearance was so off-putting his initial reaction was to act hostile, but it occurred to him that she could have led him to the overlord of this netherworld. He was so angry in thought he almost didn't notice the girl he was walking towards.

(Soundtrack: SWR prebattle theme – Drunk as I like: watch?v=fLswa5g08Y0 )

A small girl with short blue hair and a blue and white dress was crouching about fifty feet away from him. Laharl continued towards her, sizing her up as he did so. As he got closer, he noticed she was barefoot and had wings on her back that resembled icicles. He also noticed that she was very small, even for a little girl. As he neared her, he noticed that she was encasing a frog in one of her hands in what appeared to be ice spraying out of her opposite hand.

"Hey you." Laharl spoke in her direction. The girl gave no indication of noticing him, giggling to herself as the frog in her hand became fully encased. "Hey…" Laharl tried again. The girl remained oblivious, giggling at her 'handiwork'. Laharl glared at her for a few seconds before kicking her in the back of her skull, sending her tumbling forward. After rolling a few times, she brought herself to her knees and grasped her head in pain, still facing away from Laharl.

"OUCH! What just hit me?" the girl said as she looked from side to side rather than behind her. Laharl wasn't sure if the girl was mocking him or not, coaxing all the more anger out of him.

"Hey are you stupid or something?" Laharl screamed at her. The girl twirls around to face him, acting oddly surprised at his voice coming from behind her.

"Wut? Who told you that? Eye'm not an idiot!" The girl desperately defended herself against Laharl's jab.

"No one told me. It's just obvious." Laharl said matter of factly. The girl went red in the face, flustered by the finalization of Laharl's attitude.

"No eye'm not! The one who is saying idiot is the idiot!" The girl yelled as she pointed her finger at Laharl in an attempt to backlash his insult.

"…I said 'stupid'." Laharl said with a small hesitation. He really couldn't tell if this girl was mocking him or if she was just thick.

"Then you're stupid!" The girl said as she put her hands on her hips. Her expression changed to a smile and she was clearly very proud of her comeback. Laharl's patience was quickly running low.

"Look, I just need to find the strongest person in this world. So unless you know where they are get out of my way." Laharl growled through grit teeth. Although part of him wanted to end the girl's life in an instant, his last encounter was forcing him to treat her as a source of information.

"The…stronguest?" the girl asked back to Laharl, stricken with what looked like curiosity.

"Yes dumbass, the strongest!" Laharl screamed back at her, unable to control himself for much longer. The girl's eyes widened in response, and her blank stare turned back into a grin. She started giggling loudly, almost as if she was trying to laugh evilly instead. "What now?" Laharl said, the last of his patience running dry.

"You really must be stupid after all! You're looking at her!" she said with her finger pointed at Laharl again. Laharl's face looked completely dumbstruck, his sword almost slipping out of his hand.

"…you?" Laharl said without changing his expression.

(Soundtrack: Beloved Tomboyish Girl; watch?v=WnVltopWrfY )

"YES! Eye am Cirno the ice fairy, and eye am the stronguest in Gensokyo!" She said with brimming pride in her voice. Both of them stand perfectly still after that, maintaining their expressions and postures for a few moments. After this awkward pause, Laharl drew his sword and pointed it directly at Cirno, glaring and smiling with satisfaction.

"You know what? At this point I don't even care if you're lying. If you are than that's one pest out of the way, and if not then that just makes me lucky I guess." Laharl said almost with glee in his voice, finally having an excuse to punish the girl in front of him.

"Ha. You sure are arrogant if you think you can take me on." Cirno said with absolute confidence, probably more from ignorance than from actual faith in her strength. Laharl remained unimpressed, grinning with such excitement it was actually intimidating her, coaxing her to make a move. "You won't even last 10 seconds against me. Ice Sign: Icicle Fall!" As Cirno yelled this, she stretched out both of her hands. Upon finishing the chant, small spears of ice began shooting out of her hands, propelling themselves directly at Laharl. Laharl stood ready to take the hit, sizing them up as insignificant. However, the shards flew right by him, not one of them even grazing his skin. He stood there dumbfounded, half expecting some trick to this attack to surprise him. But after a few moments without even moving and still remaining untouched, it was clear that Cirno's attack had a hilariously stupid blind spot directly in front of her. "HAHA. So you're so scared you can't move eh?" Cirno yelled as she continued her attack, as if she wasn't aware that Laharl wasn't even being touched by it. Laharl considered that perhaps she really didn't realize how ineffective her attack was. It had become abundantly clear that this girl was not only weak, but a complete and utter moron. Laharl actually began to scowl as he realized he was just wasting time. After 10 seconds of her attack had passed, Laharl rushed forward, thrusting the handle of his sword directly into Cirno's belly. She immediately ceases the attack and falls flat on her back, almost unconscious.

*music abruptly ends*

Laharl fast walks to her body and picks her up by the collar, raising her up to eye level.

"Look dumbass. I'm in just a good enough mood today to let you live if you tell me where the strongest person in this world is!" Laharl screamed in Cirno's face. Cirno started to sob almost instantly.

"But-…but-…Eye am the stronguest." she managed to say as tears flooded down her cheeks.

"That's a load of crap! I can tell just by looking the woman I saw earlier was stronger than you. Now tell me!" Laharl continued to yell into her face.

"But, eye'm the-" Cirno could barely let those words escape her mouth before Laharl started violently shaking her, refusing to hear the same thing twice.

"Damnit, just tell me where the overlord is!" Laharl worded differently out of frustration.

"I-…don't know what that is." Cirno whimpered honestly.

"An OVERLORD! A ruler! A devil!" Laharl threw out as many words as he could, hoping something would click in this girl's mind before he lost control.

"I don't know!" Cirno howled. Her eyes were forced closed with tears at this point; yet after another second she suddenly and unnaturally stopped crying. "Oh wait." she said with her gaze pointed at the sky rather than Laharl's face. Laharl was almost jarred by her drastic shift in expression. "A...devil…There is a devil kind of thing at the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Cirno said almost monotone as she raised her pointed finger towards a lake in the distance. "Across the lake there." Laharl let slip a wide grin as he tossed Cirno almost nonchalantly to his side, ignoring her yelp of pain as she landed.

"Be grateful I'm letting you live. You've told me exactly what I wanted to hear." He said without turning to face her, striding towards the lake with more haste than he did when he first entered the clearing. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he might have heard Cirno call him an idiot under her breath. Luckily for her, he didn't.

Flandre sat on her knees, looking up at the evening sky. The sun had set far enough for her to discard her parasol, with only dark blue skies indicating the direction it left. The cool grass under and around her legs brushed up against her skin. The moon was almost full, with just a crescent missing from one side. The gentle night breeze blew comfortably through her hair, causing it to rustle over her depressed expression. She stared blankly, weighed down in her thoughts.

"I'm still so bored." She mumbled to herself as she looked longingly at the empty air in front of her. "What….what is it that I want?" she finally asked herself, as if she had forgotten the reason she left the mansion. She still consciously knew why she left, but for the life of her couldn't figure out where to start or what to do. The mere concept of functioning independently seemed to overwhelm her, and being stuck was extremely depressing. Her thoughts wandered towards her sister. What would happen when they met next? What would she say? She looked downwards at her reflection in the lake, growing more depressed realizing she could barely get to the other side of it before breaking down and giving up. What did she think she could do out here? She lost herself in thought, and tuned out the rest of the world. The sounds of the lake and the crickets were muffled, as was the brush behind her moving as Laharl walked up behind her.

*Soundtrack: IaMP Pre-battle Theme – Intermezzo ( watch?v=Fj4UQVC11fs&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLdZZurAPHkW2etSC1sDnP8Q) *

He stopped dead when he saw her, unsure of how to react. His logical side wanted to either use her as another lead or pass her by in case she was another weirdo, but something about her made him tense up. It was the same as when he met Yukari. He hesitated, opting to watch her for a second. His focus narrowed, looking at the lake water in front of her. In it, he could almost see her reflection. He met her red eyes in the rippling reflection, but was unable to make out her expression. She flinched, making Laharl's heart jump. It was then that he noticed that she was looking right back at his reflection in the lake. Realizing he had his guard down for far too long, he put one hand on his sword and waited for her to turn around. She turned towards him slowly, caring the aching look of depression around with her. The breeze continued to blow her hair to her side, moonlight refracting off the irises of her deep red eyes. Laharl's expression almost softened as he saw her face. The young girl's disposition added a completely different tenseness to the situation. For once in his life, Laharl didn't have an instant response or thought to what was going on. He got lost in her eyes for a moment as they evoked some kind of emotional memory. Although the expression was different, her eyes forced into memory the last woman he met when he crossed into another world. They reminded him of Overlord Zenon.


	3. Chapter 3

_Just a quick note: I'd like to apologize for the long wait on this chapter. I've completely let all my projects rot on the backburner with what's been going on lately. It still may take me a while to update these chapters, so I would like to apologize in advance. For now, here is a completed chapter 3._

Celestia…

*Soundtrack: Sorrowful Angel ( watch?v=pFKmtgGjM8A&feature=channel&list=UL ) *

Centered in a field of simple white flowers, a tall angelic figure stood with his eyes closed. A light breeze was blowing through his long grey hair and multiple feathered wings. As a look of concern spreads over his face, he opens his eyes. Almost as an answer to his concern, a female archangel walks up behind him.

"Seraph Lamington." she greets him, pausing in anticipation for a response. Lamington doesn't answer, staring into the distance as if he didn't hear her. "What troubles you sir?" she offers. The seraph doesn't turn around as he speaks.

"I've lost sight of Flonne and Laharl." He speaks grimly yet calmly.

"Sir, aren't you capable of viewing everything that happens in the Netherworld and Celestia?" the archangel asked more as a formality, knowing that the Seraph would explain.

"It appears…that those two have crossed into another world." Lamington said vaguely.

"Another Netherworld?" The archangel asks in an "is that so" tone of voice.

"No, not this time. I can view other Netherworlds…" the Seraph trailed off in thought.

"The human world?" the archangel pried.

"No. Well…" the Seraph trailed off again.

"Yes sir?" the archangel continued to pry, actually very curious now.

"I can't say for sure. From what I understand, Laharl's scheme was to enter another Netherworld, but the gate he built took him to what felt like a human world. But if it is, it's completely cut off from my view." Lamington analyzed.

"That shouldn't be possible should it?" the archangel enquired. Lamington turned around to answer her.

"It's impossible to tell what's possible sometimes. If I had to guess, I'd say there was a barrier surrounding that world." The archangel raised an eyebrow, questioning in her mind how the seraph came to an answer like that so easily. "There are forces out there equal or greater than myself." Lamington answered as a direct response to the archangel's skeptical face. "For example, I was unable to see who the real Overlord Zenon was until she revealed herself. I could not see through such a powerful seal."

"I see. So this is bad! We don't know if lady Flonne is in danger!" the archangel began raising her voice excitedly.

"I have complete confidence in Laharl's ability to protect Flonne." Lamington said, but with a tone of voice that suggested a 'but' was coming up in the sentence. "…but this isn't something we should be blind to."

"What is the course of action?" The archangel asked in an official voice.

"This is something I must see for myself." Lamington smiled a little as he said this, knowing that what he said would coax a response from the Archangel.

"Sir, that's far too extreme. Please let me go instead! I will bring Flonne back safely." the Archangel began, but Lamington raised a hand to cut her off.

"Who said Flonne was to come back with us? She may have an important purpose there. She may be necessary for Laharl's sake. Remember, both of them are the knot that tie Celestia and the Netherworld together." Lamington decided to pause here for emphasis.

"Sir…" the Archangel stated in a tone of defeat.

"I'm sorry, but this situation requires a personal touch. Besides, this may be a rare opportunity to work with an old friend of mine…"

*music fades*

"AAACHOO!" Vyers sneezed out loud, knocking over a rather large specimen in a field of sunflowers. "My my, some pretty young lady must be talking about me." He said with a buffoonish grin. Leaving the toppled over sunflower on the ground, he turns towards the now dark sky, a dark blue horizon indicating where the sun set . "Perhaps sticking so close to those three was a mistake…"

_

*Soundtrack: IaMP Pre Battle Theme: Solitary Place ( watch?v=rN_57Lp_QII )*

What was this person? Flan stared at him for what seemed like minutes, trying over and over again to process in her mind what she was looking at. A figure a bit taller than her; probably her sister's height. A red scarf running down his back and around the lower half of his face, moving seemingly by itself. His striking red eyes stared back at her's with an impact that put pressure on her chest. His sword was clenched in his hand, ready to be swung. But what was truly mysterious about this figure to Flandre was his lack of feminine subtleties. Was this what a man was? Flandre had yet to lay eyes on a male, given her upbringing in a mansion filled with only women. The silence had grown uncomfortably long between the two, demanding itself to be broken.

"I'm just passing through." Laharl settled on. He knew the direction he needed to go, and something about this girl's presence was difficult to deal with . Flandre's mind was still racing as Laharl began to move. As he neared her, she decided to utter the only thing she could bring to the front of her mind.

"Are you strong?"

*Music fades*

Just like that. She said it as if it was perfectly normal, with a completely innocent voice behind it. Laharl ceased walking immediately. He looked at her a little bit stunned, having no appropriate response prepared for such a random question. She stared back at him blankly, a feeling of anxiousness bubbling up to her chest. There was another tense pause, but this one had a much more natural conclusion.

"What kind of stupid question is that? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Laharl raised his voice as he said this. Flandre continued to stare with a mostly blank expression. "I'm Laharl, prince of the Netherowrld!" Laharl barked as he folded his arms, pausing for a response. Flandre's expression remained blank.

"I don't know what any of that means." Despite her dull response, her feeling of anxiousness had only advanced. She was stuck in thought, trying to process a situation she couldn't, waiting for something to click.

"Tch. What is it with you people anyways? None of you seem to know anything." Laharl's voice was lower, but still had a tone of anger in it. Flandre didn't respond. "I really don't have time for this. Unless you know where the Scarlet Devil Mansion is I'm done talking to you." Flandre's dull expression was instantly wiped clean. Her eyes widened as she processed what he said.

"Why…" she trailed off, struggling with her words for a moment before manually forcing herself out of her stupor. "Why go there?" The anxious feeling in her chest was beating on her inside, and she began to grow a bit excited.

"I think that's obvious. I'm going to fight it's master." Laharl could not have said this more casually, yet the words struck Flandre with almost palpable force. Her pupils dilate as a switch finally goes off in her head. The situation was finally clear and focused in her mind. "Now if you're done with the stupid questions-"

"You won't." Flandre cut Laharl off mid-sentence. Her voice was still calm, but not quite as dull as it had been.

"What?" Laharl uttered with clear annoyance in his voice, yet with a perk of interest behind it. Flandre began to shift her sitting position.

"You won't because…" Flandre trailed off as she began lifting herself up. A smile began just barely creeping up on her face. "You won't need to." She stood upright, narrowing her eyes and grinning at Laharl as if she was a different person. "After all, I'm a lot stronger than my sister." Flandre finished her drawn out sentence, now grinning manically. She didn't put any thought into her words, and didn't consider whether Laharl would understand. Her mind had made a complete switch from her innocence, and was on a very one way track towards an inevitable outcome.

"What are you-" Laharl began before cutting off his own sentence. Although she was vague, it didn't take him long to piece together her meaning. Realization crept into his face as he stared her down. Her sister was who he was looking for, and she was in his way. Now both of their hearts were beating anxiously. "I see. So if I'm going to get anything done…"

*Soundtrack: Witch Hunting: ( watch?v=xscm_qYntfA )

Laharl draws his sword after a brief pause, pointing it directly at Flandre in his usual fashion. "…Then you are going to be an obstacle!" Both of them crack toothy grins, burying their anxiety in excitement.

"You didn't answer me before. My question…" Flandre spoke as she curled her lips upwards.

"I'll answer by showing you!" Both of their hearts spike with anxiety one last time before they are overcome with bloodlust. Laharl rushes forwards to meet Flandre, reaching her within moments. He swings his sword horizontally. Flandre leaps just above the sword's path, landing on its side as it swings by. Laharl doesn't immediately catch this, holding the sword steady to his side. In his hesitation, he realizes Flandre's presence on his sword to his left, but in that time she decided to make a move. Raising her hand in Laharl's direction, she let loose a volley of lasers at almost point blank range, sending Laharl flying into the trees behind them. Flandre landed lightly on her feet, folding her arms and scowling in his direction.

"Stupid. Why didn't he dodge? He just breaks like all the other toys-" As the last syllable came off her lips, the surrounding trees were blown away in an explosion. Laharl's scream was barely audible over the explosion. Standing up perfectly straight, he points his sword again towards Flandre.

"Is that all you've got!?" He screams in her direction. Flandre stares back at him stunned for a moment. Hesitantly, her lips curl back into a smile.

"You don't break? You're still alive? That means we can keep playing!" Flandre announced with giddy excitement.

"You think I'm playing? This is serious!" Laharl swings his sword directly up in the air. "Overlord's Wrath!" Laharl swings his sword downwards, unleashing a cut of energy over the entire area in front of him. Flandre stands in the path of the blast for a few moments, sizing it up. As the blast nears her, a flicker of seriousness flashed through her eyes before she decided to dodge out of the way. Upon moving to her left, she is met with Laharl directly in front of her.

"Blazing Knuckle!" Laharl throws a flaming hook from his free hand, aiming it straight at Flandre's neck. Flandre's eyes widen in a fleeting moment of surprise before catching his punch with her opposite hand. Laharl's attack is stopped dead, managing only to push Flan back a few inches as his former attack strikes the lake behind them, exploding brilliantly in the background. Laharl's face contorted with rage as he spontaneously swung his sword downward. But almost as quickly as he could think it, Flandre grabbed the wrist of his sword arm, holding the attack back. The two of them stood deadlocked, pushing all their physical strength against the other. Laharl's teeth were grit together in anger, while Flandre wore a look of insane amusement.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! This isn't a game!" Laharl said, frustrated in the appearance on her face.

"But I'm having so much fun." Flandre said with manic satisfaction. Laharl's pupils shrank as anger continued to overtake him. Forcing himself forward, he headbutt Flandre, causing both of her hands to lose grip as she grasped her forehead in pain. Laharl used the opening to swing his sword at her side again. But almost nonchalantly, Flandre catches his sword's blade in one of her hands, the other still clutching her forehead. She tilts her head upwards, a look of rage now looking back at Laharl. Taking her other hand, she attempts to throw another volley of lasers, only to have her hand caught and intertwined with Laharl's, stopping the blast. Again, the two of them are battlelocked, each pushing against the other's strength. Both of them now gritting their teeth in anger. After a few moments, Flandre's heals begin to be pushed back, dragging across the ground. The blade she caught in her hand was beginning to sink into her skin. Following her first instinct, she lets lose the stifled volley in her hand, forcing the two of them apart. A cloud of dust is kicked up from the blast, clearing quickly from the night breeze. Laharl stood quietly, now looking quite satisfied with himself. As the dust cleared around Flan's midair presence, a neutral expression was revealed on her face. Slowly, an extremely unique open mouth grin crept to one side of her face. She started to giggle, then laugh hysterically. Unable to help himself, Laharl grinned widely in response. In his mind, he began to question if perhaps he was having as much fun as her.

"You…can I go as far as I want against you?" Flandre said through her laughter, putting one of her hands onto her cheek.

"What's that mean?" Laharl asked despite being able to guess.

"I couldn't even do everything against the witch and the red white. Can I…let loose? Can I go crazy?" Flandre communicated as best she could, overtaken by excitement.

"It's not a choice. Even your best won't stand a chance." Laharl proclaimed, his words oozing with arrogance.

"I won't be blamed if you break will I? I can really do whatever I want?" Flandre said as if she couldn't believe it.

"That goes both ways. Don't complain when you're dead."

*music fades*  
*chapter ends*


End file.
